Details

The Roland FA-06 is Roland’s flagship music workstation. It picks up the baton from the legendary Fantom series, and re-imagines it for a modern, computer-centred era, without sacrificing any of its power as a live performance instrument. Like its predecessors, it still has an arsenal of stunning sounds of all kinds, incorporating flagship technology, with a 16-track onboard sequencer and integrated sampler. However, this is now combined with a keyboard designed to connect perfectly with a modern computer DAW.

The onboard sounds are key to the success of any workstation, and here, the FA-06 has some of the very best anywhere. Over 2,000 sounds are featured in total, derived from those in the Integra-7 uber-module. It also incorporates Roland’s cutting edge, SuperNATURAL technology. This delivers more expressive and authentic sounds, by removing the typical audio artefacts of sample-based synthesis (such as obvious sample switching or looping), or adding correct audio details (such as sympathetic resonance on piano sounds, for example), and much more.

A selection of SuperNATURAL acoustic, drum and synth sounds are included, and sounds can also be expanded via internal wave expansion slots, plus the FA-06 is compatible with Integra-7 sounds. This means that lots more can be accessed online via Roland’s excellent Axial sound library.

16-Track onboard MIDI sequencer

Sometimes, when inspiration hits, the computer isn’t switched on or even nearby. This is where the workstation often proves its worth. The Roland FA-06 is equipped with a 16-track sequencer, but has some very clever, and very useful tricks up its sleeve…

A non-stop loop recorder enables ideas to be caught easily, and songs to be constructed quickly and intuitively. In addition, via the SDHC slot, work can be exported to a finished stereo audio file, or to multi-track audio data for use in a DAW of your choice.

Built-in sampler and audio interface with DAW integration

Like its predecessors, the FA-06 has a built-in sampler, but here it is based on the SP-404sx. This has sixteen sample pads, with four different banks, and direct recording to SDHC. This adds further to the unit’s power as a standalone instrument and performance tool.

A USB socket to the rear provides the means for the unique to connect seamlessly with a DAW set-up, however. This operates as a MIDI connection, but also an audio interface, too. A guitar and microphone input are equipped, which can be used to input audio to the sampler, or to the DAW via the audio interface.

The FA-06 is fitted with a plethora of controllers. To the left, six rotary controllers provide the means to tweak sounds in real-time, or change effects settings, EQ and Pan. The whole workstation can be configured for use with a DAW at the touch of a button

An astonishing, 16 effects engines (one for each part) feature, along with dedicated drum processors, EQ, chorus and reverb. If this were not enough, the whole thing weighs just 5.7kg, making it a gigging musician’s dream.

There are very different demands placed on a workstation for the live performer and the studio producer. The Roland FA-06 provides ample tools for both parties, but does so with some of the very best sounds available, and with seamless integration.